NATIONAL NEWS

National Conference on Cooperation Policy

• A two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy is being organized in New Delhi.
• The conference will be inaugurated by the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah. The Minister of State for Cooperation B. L. Verma will also be present in the occasion.
• The Union Ministry of Cooperation announced six important themes covering policy framework, reforms for strengthening governance, making cooperatives vibrant economic entities, promoting social cooperatives and role of cooperatives in social security will be discussed during the conference.

First Flight of Made in India HAL Dornier Do-228

• First flight of Made in India HAL Dornier Do-228 will be flagged off from Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.
• It was inaugurated in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in the presence of Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu.
• Civil Aviation Ministry has approved providing air connectivity and Aviation Infrastructure Scheme in North Eastern Region to promote air connectivity in the States and to develop infrastructure for air connectivity in the region.
• Alliance Air will be country's first commercial airline to fly Indian-made aircraft for civil operations.

Erisha Agritech With ARAI

• Erisha Agritech Private Limited Signed MoU with The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

• It is to add strength to Erisha Agritech’s design and development of advanced powertrain systems and components for electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells.
• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked to this effect between the two companies.
• The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is a leading automotive R&D organization in the country set up by the automotive industry with the Government of India.

‘One station One Product’

• The South-Central Railway (SCR) has launched the “One station One Product” initiative at 6 major stations in all its six divisions. General Manager of SCR, Arun Kumar Jain, has inaugurated stalls under the new initiative at Secunderabad Station.
• The stalls have also been opened at Kacheguda beside Vijayawada, Guntur and Aurangabad Stations.
• The Government had announced the new initiative in the General Budget 2022-23 and is already under trial at Tirupati.
• Railways stations are suitable to promote indigenous and local products and the initiative is aimed to make the railway stations a sales and promotional hub for local artisans.
• Fresh Water Pearl Jewellery and Hyderabad Bangles will be promoted at Secunderabad station and Pochampally products will be promoted at Kachiguda stations In Telangana.

SPORTS

Thailand Open Boxing Tournament 2022

• Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament 2022 was held in Phuket.

• 15-member Indian boxing contingent participated in the Tournament and finished with ten medals including three golds, four silvers and three bronzes.
• Gold medalists received USD 2000 while silver and bronze medalists received USD 1000 and USD 500 respectively.

List of Gold Medal winners:

• Govind Sahani in the 48 kg category.

• Avanta Pralhad Chopde in the 54 kg category.

• Sumit in the 75 kg category.

Australian Formula1 Grand Prix

• Monaco racer Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won the Australian Grand Prix which was held in Melbourne, Victoria. He won the Grand Prix for the second time in 2022.
• Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Automobile.
• Sergio Perez (Red bull) and George Russell (Mercedes) finished second and third respectively.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

State Energy and Climate Index

• State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) was released by NITI Aayog.
• The index is aimed at ranking states and Union Territories on six parameters namely discoms’ performance, access affordability and reliability of energy, clean energy initiatives, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and new initiatives.
• The states have been categorised based on size and geographical differences as larger states, smaller states, and UTs.
• The index is based on 2019-20 data.

Top three performers in the category of larger states.

• Gujarat.

•  Kerala

• Punjab

Top three performing state in the category of smaller-states

• Goa

• Tripura.

• Manipur.

Top three performing state in the category of UTs

• Chandigarh.

•  Delhi.
•  Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Shaheen-III by Pakistan

• Pakistan's Army on Saturday conducted a successful flight test of the surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile Shaheen-III which can strike targets up to 2,750 kilometres.
• Shaheen-III is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of reaching the farthest point in India's northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• It is solid-fuelled and equipped with the Post-Separation Altitude Correction (PSAC) system.
• This missile was first tested in March 2015.

Pinaka Mk-I

• Pinaka Mk-I (Enhanced) Rocket System EPRS and Pinaka Area Denial Munition ADM rocket systems have been successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO and Indian Army at Pokhran Firing Ranges.
• A total of 24 EPRS rockets were fired for different ranges during a period of 2 weeks.
• The Pinaka rocket system has been developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune supported by High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, DRDO.
• The system has been upgraded with advanced technologies enhancing the range to meet the emerging requirements.

Gaofen 5-02

• China has successfully launched Gaofen 5-02, which is a Earth Observation Satellite into space.
• It was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch centre by a Long March-4C rocket.
• Gaofen-5 02 is a hyperspectral satellite that will be used for comprehensive environmental monitoring, to improve the country’s hyperspectral observation capacity of the atmosphere, water and land.
• The satellite and carrier rocket were developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Prime Minister of Pakistan

• Shehbaz Sharif, opposition leader of Pakistan was elected as the 23^rd Prime Minister of Pakistan in the National Assembly.

• He will succeed Imran Khan.

• The 70-year-old Pakistan Muslim League chief, Shehbaz Sharif is the brother of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Chief Coordinator of G20 Summit 2023

• Harsh Vardhan Shringla will be appointed as coordinator for the G20 summit, which will be hosted by India in 2023.
• Shringla retired as Foreign Secretary on 30 April will take charge of his new role as G20 coordinator on 01 May 2022 and will hold post till December 2023.
• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will remain the G20 sherpa.
• This is a newly created role for organising the summit, which will include both substantive aspects as well as logistics.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Safe Motherhood Day

• National Safe Motherhood Day is observed every year on 11 April.

• The day aims to work towards providing better medical facilities to pregnant or new mothers to reduce the maternal mortality rate.

• It is also to raise awareness about adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal period.
• National Safe Motherhood Day 2022 marks the 19thanniversary of the day’s first observation in 2003. It was launched by the White Ribbon Alliance (WRAI).

World Parkinson’s Day

• World Parkinson’s Day is observed every year on 11 April.

• This day is celebrated to raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease which is a progressive neurological disease.

• This day is also marked as the birth anniversary of Dr. James Parkinson’s who was the first person to describe about this disease.
• The theme for the World Parkinson’s Day is ‘integrated healthcare’.
• The month of April is observed as Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

World Homeopathy Day

• World Homeopathy Day is observed every year on 10 April.

• The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.
• The theme for World Homeopathy Day 2022 in India is ‘People’s Choice for Wellness’.
• The day also highlights the importance of a field of medicine and its ability in eradication.
• Hahnemann was born in Paris in 1755, founded this branch of medicine and is considered the father of Homeopathy.

OBITUARY

Veteran Actor Shiv Kumar Subrahmaniam

• Veteran actor and writer Shiv Kumar Subrahmaniam passed away in Mumbai. He was 62 years old.
• He is known for penning critically-acclaimed films "Parinda", "1942: A Love Story" and "Chameli".
• Subrahmanyam had also featured in films like "2 States", "Hichki", "Stanley Ka Dabba", "Kaminey" and "Meenakshi Sundareshwar".